


Falling Slowly

by christineb101



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26573890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christineb101/pseuds/christineb101
Summary: Falling slowly, eyes that know meAnd I can't go backAnd moods that take me and erase meAnd I'm painted blackPost season one, maybe some of what I think might happened involved.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 240





	Falling Slowly

"Do I have to tell you again, he is made of air!"

"He _was,_ but now I'm not so sure.. I mean, we hugged, we all hugged. He felt real to me then," Julie tried to explain to Flynn. "I'm thinking maybe... this is stupid... maybe everyone can see them now. We haven't tested it, but since you already know them better than my dad or Carlos, maybe you'd want to help?"

It was a silent plea. Help Julie see if her ghost bandmates were no longer ghosts, or at least could be seen again.

"Even if you're right, even if somehow these boys are visible, Luke is still dead, Julie," Flynn responded. She was right, and Julie knew it, but she couldn't help but think _what if._

"Does that mean you'll help us?"

A beat of hesitation. "Of course I'll help your ghost band," Flynn conceded to Julie's high pitched celebration.

* * *

Later, Julie walked into the studio and found Reggie, Alex, and Luke all crowded on the couch.

"Flynn's coming by soon to see if you guys are visible to everyone or not," Julie stated as she sat down on the couch, finding herself squished between Alex and Luke. "And in case you were wondering, you still feel real to me." 

Reggie let out a giggle while Luke, very subtly, draped his arm around Julie's shoulder. Against her better judgment, Julie let him. She may have even inched closer to him, she would neither confirm or deny.

"So," Alex began, "now that we've played the Orpheum and are, at this point, safe from Caleb's elite ghost club, what are our plans?"

They passed the next half hour discussing possible gigs and rehearsals they should have.

When Flynn entered the studio, she stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth dropped open.

"I-I can see you, but.. you're not playing music?"

The boys all jumped up from their seats, almost throwing Julie off the couch in the process.

"You know what this means?!" Alex yelled.

"I can go introduce myself to Ray!" Reggie responded. Everyone stopped celebrating to look at him.

"Don't you think I should try to explain this to my dad first before the three hologram boys barge into my house to talk to him?"

"Fair point," the boys responded in unison.

"Hey uh, Julie, can we talk.. in private," Luke turned to her.

Her heart started pounding in her chest. She stared at him for a second before realizing she had to reply. "Of course Luke."

He led her out of the studio, all while feeling Flynn's stare burn into her back. They walked around the building, away from the view of the main house and any prying ghost eyes. Luke turned to her and reached out, taking her hand in his. It seemed to still take him by surprise, the feeling of touching another human for the first time in 25 years. His eyes flickered down to their hands, as if he couldn't believe she was still letting him hold hers. He took a deep breath.

"I just want to check in with you. And I guess check what this means... for us." He was obviously nervous, probably as nervous as she felt inside. "I mean, I can hold your hand and," he moved his other hand to cradle her cheek, just like he had the other night, "touch your face. I can feel you, and you can feel me." His eyes searched hers, looking for any apprehension.

"Luke.. I like you," His eyes lit up, a smile took over his worried face, "I really like you, but.."

"But.." he repeated.

"But, you're still a ghost, right?" She paused before continuing, "I guess I just need some time to think about all of this, about all that's happening around me."

"Oh, of course!" Luke let go of her hand. He had a happy demeanor, but Julie still sensed sadness in his eyes. "I didn't mean to rush you into anything. This is weird, I know. It's weird for me too. Take all the time you need." With that, he turned and made his way back to the other in the studio. Julie watched him go, wondering if she made the right call, before following him back to the boys and Flynn.

* * *

"What did Luke want to talk to you about last night?" Flynn asked at Julie's locker the next day. "You seemed to rush out of their pretty quickly."

"He wanted to ask where this whole thing, the boys being visible now, put us. I told him that it feels weird and I need to think about it."

"That's good!"

"But now I'm wondering if I said the wrong thing.. I really like him, and now he's like _real,_ and I just... I like him a lot Flynn."

"Listen, I think you made the right choice. Even if you told him that it feels weird right now, it's Luke. I'm sure he's more than happy to wait for you to make up your mind. Now that I can see the way he looks at you.. Actually the way they all look at you.. Anyway, Luke likes you. _A Lot._ He respects you. He'll wait for you."

* * *

"Listen, Reggie! Telling your dad that you've been hanging out with ghosts is not exactly an easy topic to bring up! What do I say 'Hey dad, those hologram band members are actually ghosts that are now visible to everyone. And they've been hanging out in our studio."

"I think you've got it!" Reggie smiled. Julie glared daggers at him.

"Just stand outside out of view and when you hear my dad doubt whatever I'm saying, come in and show him."

Before the boys could respond, Julie turned toward the door and started toward the house. She walked in to her dad sitting at the kitchen table, looking at his laptop. No Carlos to be found. She let out a breath of relief. One of them was going to be hard enough, she didn't think she had it in her to explain to both of them.

"Hey dad," Julie started. He looked up from his laptop and smiled. "I have something to say that's going to sound really weird, so uhm, I'm going to need you to hold all questions until the end. You know the three hologram members of my band?"

"Of course sweetie! They're incredible! What about them?"

Julie took in a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing," she whispered. "They're ghosts. They were members of the band Sunset Curve back in the 90s, then died from bad hot dogs, and now they're ghosts.. I could see them all the time, and everyone else could only see them when we played music together. Now they're visible to everyone and can physically touch things, so I thought I should let you know."

There was a moment of hesitation before Ray started to laugh. "Good story Julie! That'll be really great for your creative writing class!"

As if on cue, Alex, Luke, and Reggie all walked through the door and waved.

"Hi Ray!" Reggie said, "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time!"

Alex glared at Reggie for a split second before starting to explain. "Julie's right, sir. We're ghosts. But suddenly, everyone can see us all the time.."

Ray looked from the boys to Julie, then back to the boys. His face lit up like everything suddenly made sense.

"That's why Carlos has been going on about ghosts for weeks! And those orbs in the photographs... they were actually you?"

"Guilty as charged," Luke said.

* * *

After a surprisingly successful explanation to her dad, Julie and the Phantoms made their way back to the studio. Everything had been going so well, Julie decided to finally make up her mind.

"Luke, can we talk?"

Luke's eyes briefly lit up once more. "Anything for you Julie, you know that."

This time, she took his hand as she led him back to the same spot around the side of the studio. She turned to look at him, his sleeveless shirt, messy hair, and puppy dog eyes and all. He looked sad.

"I've been thinking about what you said yesterday," she still clutched his hand, almost afraid to let go. "I want to tell you that.." She paused. Was this the right decision? Once again, his eyes searched her for any sign of her thought process. "I want to tell you that, I really like you Luke, and I'm willing to figure this thing out with you."

His mouth dropped open for a split second before forming a bright smile. "Are you.. Are you serious?" as if he didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Of course I'm serious you ghost boy!"

Before she knew it, she was being pulled into a tight hug. His strong arms wrapped around her back, pulling her close.

"I could get used to this," she smiled as she pulled away to gaze into his soft eyes. 


End file.
